Preparing for the Race of Life

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Adventures are Awesome!

This last month has been a whirlwind of activity…to say the very least! I have driven, flown, walked and run over 10,000 miles. My adventure has taken from me Nashville to St. Louis onward to Minneapolis with a side of San Antonio and Austin! From the Longhorn state to New York City, ending with a west coast swing to the desert of Tucson, Arizona! The adventure has been awesome no doubt and I’d like to share a few highlights along the way. I have been doing more and more public speaking events and this 5 state journey has created a ton of momentum and positive energy.

-St. Louis is such a great city even despite the freezing cold temperatures and heavy snow. I learned that the city is hockey crazy until opening day of the Major League baseball season, at which time the “Cardinal Craze sets in!” I met a host of fascinating characters that all shared a piece of their lives with me. I love to listen just as much as I speak and the people of St. Louis gave me that opportunity!

-Minneapolis in March might not have been the best time to be there! I experienced my first sub-zero weather day (it was -6 the second day of my stay.) I learned that the national retailers Target and Best Buy makes headquarters in the Twin Cities. The people of Minneapolis love to ice-fish and snow-mobile due to the brutally cold and long lasting winters. Again, I had the great fortune of using my ears despite my purpose of speaking on those 2 days.

-In the state of Texas, EVERYONE wears cowboy boots…I am not joking! I was making a lunch presentation to a group of financial professionals dressed to the nines. Sure enough, to compliment the fancy 3 piece suits were diamond studded cowboy boots! I had a chance to see the University of Texas campus highlighted by Texas Stadium and the State Capital. San Antonio presented the nicest day of the year as a warm welcome for my speaking engagement. In Texas, I felt more at home (perhaps because the people sure sounded a lot more like me YA’LL!

-NYC was….well, exactly like I expected it to be. Crazy, fast-paced, chaotic, BUT I loved every minute of it. The taxi drive from the airport to the hotel took well over an hour and contained all of the stereotypical antics that are portrayed by drivers on the big screen. My hotel was directly across the street from Ground Zero and I was thrilled to see the progress that was being made on the reconstruction of our financial center and heartbeat.

-Tucson was a welcome relief and could not have come at a better time. This was the last of my 5 city tour which involved the Timex Multisport Team’s annual media/sponsor weekend. This was my 5th trip as a member of this triathlon team and each one seems to upstage the last. These are my favorite people in the world and when together the time goes by far too quickly. There was the obvious: swimming, cycling and running but there were also ample opportunities to catch up with old friends to share new life experiences.

So after spending the better part of the last 5 weeks on the road, I am feeling a greater sense of gratitude that ever before. Adventures are awesome and I highly encourage you to embark. Adventures don’t have to be grand but they do have to “be.” What adventure could you conjure up in the not too distant future? Could you go for a breakfast date with your spouse and kids? Could you go for a run on the trails in a local park? Spring Break has recently passed and perhaps you found yourself on an adventure with that?

See if you can re-live your adventure or plan one for the upcoming week. When you live in, make sure to take the time to remember it afterward. This is a short journal entry and my enthusiasm as I write continues to grow. You only have one life to live so you might as well find an awesome adventure to take advantage of!